The Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations-developed XE SV Project 8 has demonstrated its breadth of performance capability by setting the fastest Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time for a four-door production car, again: 7min 18.361sec.
This new officially-verified time on the 20.6km (12.8-mile) lap is 2.9 seconds faster than Project 8’s previous benchmark set in November 2017 and 7 seconds faster than any other four-door production car has achieved.
Project 8 is also the first vehicle to set an official whole lap record in the Nürburgring’s mid-range production car class, lapping the 20.8km (12.94-mile) circuit length in 7min 23.164sec.
Returning to the legendary German circuit in a production-specification two-seat Track Pack version of Project 8 was development driver Vincent Radermecker. The car’s height-adjustable twin-spring coil-over suspension was set in ‘track’ ride height, with adjustable front splitter and carbon-fibre rear aerodynamic wing positioned for maximum down-force and stability.
To maximise performance and steering precision, for the final record runs Project 8 was fitted with new off-the-shelf ultra-high performance Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres. Tested and chosen by SV engineers for their capability on the track, the road-legal tyres use rubber compounds directly transferred from Michelin’s competition tyres.
Jamal Hameedi, Engineering Director, Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations, said: “The original Nürburgring time set by Jaguar XE SV Project 8 demonstrated the extreme performance envelope of the world’s fastest production sedan, but the SV team is driven by a motorsport mentality and we knew Project 8 could go even faster. This new official record time is a fitting reward for everyone who has played a part in pushing the boundaries for our customers with Project 8.”
Powered by the most highly tuned 600PS version of Jaguar’s 5.0-litre Supercharged V8, the all-wheel-drive Project 8 is capable of 0-60mph in 3.3 seconds (0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds) and a top speed of 200mph (320km/h). Project 8 also features a fully-enclosed flat under-body for enhanced aerodynamics, which is key to its performance.
Production of the limited-edition Project 8 will finish this year. There are three distinct four-door specifications available:
- Lightweight two-seat Track Pack* – as used for the record lap times
- Four-seat configuration with same aero package and performance as Track Pack
- Touring specification with discreet fixed rear spoiler – the ultimate Q-car, limited to 15 examples worldwide and 186mph.
Prices for the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 start from £149,995 in the UK. For more information, and to find your nearest Jaguar Retailer, visit: www.jaguar.co.uk/project8
